What Craft Brewers Drink When There Are No Other Options

It’s a quandary that could only exist in our current foodie-driven, every-taste-matters era. You go to a ballgame and the concession stand beers are strictly from the international conglomerates. Unacceptable. You hit a summer concert in the park and the only options for wetting your whistle are corporate macro-lagers. Disgraceful. You attend your buddy’s wedding and the damn open-bar is all bottom-shelf brews.

What exactly are you supposed to do?

I started solving that latter issue by smuggling my own well-filled flask into ceremonies. That’s crass, certainly, and embarrassing to my wife, maybe, but much better than spending an entire Saturday evening drinking rotgut. But I don’t exactly have any sort of reputation to uphold.

It made me wonder: What do the owners and brewmasters at some of America’s top craft breweries do when faced with the aforementioned scenarios? Remember, these aren’t just people who like to drink “good beer.” No, their entire raison d’etre is about producing independently-owned, lovingly-made, stick-it-to-The-Man ales and lagers. In fact, were a beer geek to see, say, Dogfish Head’s Sam Calagione coolly sipping on a Bud Light Lime while at a baseball game or rock show, why, we might have an international incident on our hands.

So then, what do pros like Calagione do? Maybe they suck it up and surreptitiously sip an ice-cold PBR after all. Or maybe they opt for a gin and tonic or the house wine. Perhaps they smuggle some craft cans in their pockets, or flex a flask like I do. Or is it possible they abstain from drinking altogether until they can get back to friendlier beer waters?

I had to know, so I hit up 11 of this country’s top beer-makers and asked them that very question. Here are their answers.

Sam Calagione

Founder and president of Dogfish Head Brewery (Milton, DE)

“If a place only has macro-lagers, or the brands owned by macro-lagers but marketed as if they come from a real indie craft brewery, I will usually opt for wine or a G and T (especially if they have our Whole Leaf Gin). If they don’t have good spirits but they have a good wine list, it will be a pinot noir from the hop-growing region of the Northwest U.S. If they have a shitty wine list, I get pinot gris. If it’s ‘plastic-cup’ shitty, I get the pinot gris with ice cubes. But I really do try keep myself out of nightmare scenarios like the latter two.”

Garrett Oliver

Brewmaster at Brooklyn Brewery (Brooklyn, NY)

"I have been known to drink decent pale ale out of a cleaned-up one-gallon sour cream food-service tub (on a fishing boat), but I don't drink industrial beer. A lot of sommeliers think crap beer is ironic. It's not—it just tastes bad. On airplanes, I bring my own cocktails in my quart baggie, usually Old Fashioneds. My friends don't have bad booze at weddings and parties, but a flask of Ardbeg will solve most problems."

Brian O'Reilly

Brian O'Reilly, left

Brewmaster at Sly Fox Brewery (Phoenixville, PA)

“That scenario is less and less common, but every now and then it does happen. I can enjoy a macro or a large regional beer from time to time. I definitely do not abstain but I’m sure to drink less. I would be more likely to check out the Scotch selection.”

Jeremy Danner

Ambassador brewer at Boulevard Brewing Co. (Kansas City, MO)

“As I come up on ten years of working in breweries, one thing I never want to lose is my ability to just ‘shut up and drink beer.’ As someone who spends a ton of time thinking about beer in a very critical manner during the work day, sometimes it’s just nice to sit down and drink a beer without thinking about it. For that reason, I have zero problem drinking whatever happens to be coldest at the time. When I first started hanging out with my neighbor, the now infamous Neighbor Don, he brought over some super-cold Keystone Light and we sat and drank it all. I don’t want beverage choice to ever be more important than good company.”

Augie Carton

Co-founder Carton Brewing Co. (Atlantic Highlands, NJ)

“I go for gin. Straight (as opposed to a gin and tonic). I’m an aromatics guy. I’ll save the tasting for my beers.”

Tim Patton

Photo: Hillary Petrozziello

Co-owner and brewer at Saint Benjamin Brewing Company (Philadelphia, PA)

“I never go for a Big 3 macro lager. If I’m somewhere without much craft beer, first I look for some of the good beers that are at places like that, such as Sierra Nevada, Hoegaarden, Pilsner Urquell. After that, depending on the venue, I’ll either look for a malbec or a white wine (I don't tend to trust a lot of bars not to have oxidized red wine), or I’ll get a Captain and coke, gin and tonic, or a Manhattan. If all else fails, I'll just have a Coke or a water.”

Armando DeDona

Owner and brewer at Long Live Beerworks (Providence, RI)

“If I can’t have a craft beer, I will drink a macro lager. It’s still beer, after all, and it’s what everyone used to have as a first beer. If it wasn’t for the big guys, I may have never started down this road.”

Chris Trogner

Chris Trogner, left (via PennLive)

Co-founder of Tröegs Independent Brewing (Hershey, PA)

“We’re pretty lucky here in central Pennsylvania. You can usually count on finding Yuengling at most places you go. That’s always a standby. If I can’t find a beer I’m interested in, I’ll take a look at the wine list.”

Riley Finnigan

Brewhouse manager at Avery Brewing Co. (Boulder, CO)

“If there’s no beer around that’s to my liking, I reach for whiskey or tequila. It’s an art to know the difference between a tequila night and a whiskey night, but the adept drinker knows when to pull the trigger on either delicious libation. Though inevitably, the next morning finds me wishing I’d had access to ‘good beer’ the night before."

Tom Kehoe

“Well, it really depends on the situation. I like some macros, and appreciate the products they produce, and some are much better than others. I will go for a bourbon over all other spirits and club soda over water. If I am really thirsty it might be a tossup between the seltzer and the macro. But bourbon wins.”

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